Box 4 · Levies

Waste levies by state

A waste levy is a charge a state puts on each tonne of waste disposed of to landfill, to make recovering it the better-value choice. For 2026–27 the general rate is $135 a tonne in Queensland’s metropolitan zone, $171 in metropolitan Adelaide, an anticipated $90 in Western Australia and an expected $70.56 in Tasmania.

General information. Levy rates change every financial year. These are the figures each regulator published, read on 8 October 2026; its page, listed at the foot of this one, has the current rate. New South Wales and Victoria are covered at the end of this page.

4.1Four states, side by side

General waste levy rates for 2026–27, as at October 2026, from each regulator’s own page
State	Per tonne, 2026–27	Where it applies
Queensland	$135 in the metropolitan zone; $100 in the regional zone. The general rate covers municipal, commercial and industrial, and construction and demolition waste.	The levy zone: 10 South East Queensland local government areas in the metropolitan zone, and 29 more in the regional zone.
South Australia	$171.00 for solid waste from metropolitan Adelaide; $85.50 from outside it.	Which rate applies depends on whether the waste is collected inside or outside the metropolitan Adelaide boundary.
Western Australia	$90, shown as anticipated from 1 July 2026 in the rate schedule last updated 24 September 2025. The rate prescribed by regulation in that schedule was $88, for 2025–26.	Waste received at licensed landfills in the metropolitan region, and waste collected in the Perth metropolitan region that goes to a licensed landfill outside it.
Tasmania	$70.56, expected from 1 July 2026: 36 fee units at the 2026–27 fee unit value of $1.96.	All waste sent to landfill in Tasmania.

4.2How each state applies it

Queensland

The levy applies to all waste disposed to landfill, and there is no levy on materials that are recycled. The rate depends on where waste is generated and where it is disposed of: waste from the metropolitan zone, and waste brought in from another state or territory, is charged the metropolitan rate wherever in Queensland it goes.

The metropolitan rate rises by $10 a tonne each year, to $145 for 2027–28, while the regional rate rises with the Government Indexation Rate. A landfill operator pays no GST on the levy it pays the state, but GST applies when the operator charges its customers to cover the levy.

South Australia

Waste disposal depots pay the levy to the EPA on the waste disposed of at their site. A depot that also recovers material pays nothing on the part it recovers, and resource recovery facilities that dispose of nothing on site do not pay it at all; only the leftovers from recovery that end up at a disposal depot are levied.

Western Australia

Licensed landfills lodge a levy return every quarter and pay within 28 days of the quarter’s end. Each year the Minister for Environment must set aside at least 25 per cent of the forecast levy for an account that funds waste programs.

Tasmania

The levy began on 1 July 2022 at 12 fee units a tonne, rose to 24 from 1 July 2024 and reaches its full 36 from 1 July 2026. It is not charged on materials that are reused, recycled or sent to approved organics facilities, and all of it is held in a dedicated account for waste and resource recovery work.

4.3A worked example

Example only: the levy alone, not the full cost of disposal

Say a renovation leaves 2.4 tonnes of mixed waste that goes to landfill in 2026–27. Using each state’s general rate (the metropolitan rate where there are zones), the levy part works out as follows.

Levy on 2.4 tonnes sent to landfill, computed from the rates above
Where	Sum	Levy
Queensland, metropolitan zone	2.4 × $135.00	$324.00
South Australia, metropolitan Adelaide	2.4 × $171.00	$410.40
Western Australia (anticipated rate)	2.4 × $90.00	$216.00
Tasmania (expected rate)	2.4 × $70.56	$169.34

Tasmania’s figure is rounded to the cent. If the same load went to a recycling facility instead, Queensland would charge no levy on the material that was recycled.

4.4Why the levy reaches your skip

A per-tonne charge is also a reason some operators dump. EPA Victoria says illegal operators who dump waste pocket the levy that was meant to cover its safe processing. Queensland ties its heaviest dumping penalty to the levy: for more than 2,500 litres, the most a court can impose on an individual is $172,700, or twice the waste levy that was avoided if that is greater.

New South Wales and Victoria

In NSW, certain licensed waste facilities pay a contribution for each tonne received, in a regulated area covering metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the Hunter, the council areas along the central and north coast up to the Queensland border, plus the Blue Mountains, Wingecarribee and Wollondilly.

In Victoria, a levy is paid on all waste received at a landfill, at a rate set by the waste’s disposal category; the rates are expressed in fee units, whose value the Treasurer of Victoria sets each financial year. Both regulators publish their current rates on the pages listed below.